I'm not a special case

David Beckham last night insisted he should not be considered a "special case" as he delivered the ideal morale boost to England ahead of today's Euro 2004 qualifier in Macedonia by declaring himself fit and ready for action.

David Beckham last night insisted he should not be considered a "special case" as he delivered the ideal morale boost to England ahead of today's Euro 2004 qualifier in Macedonia by declaring himself fit and ready for action.

With Paul Scholes, Steven Gerrard and Rio Ferdinand all ruled out, Sven-Goran Eriksson was relieved to see his captain come through yesterday's return to full training without any sign of aggravating his groin injury.

The England coach believes Beckham will be fully fit for the game, although he conceded he would still be prepared to start him "if he's 95pc and it would not be dangerous for the future".

Eriksson added: "I expect him to play. Talking to him, the physios and the doctors, they are all convinced that he will be okay for the game.

"David had a good World Cup even if he wasn't 100pc but I think he will be 100pc fit this time. It's not a muscle injury that could be made worse if he played, and he should be okay."

Beckham pledged to be completely honest about the groin problem sustained earlier this week and, barring any overnight reaction, he is determined to line up in Skopje to win his 62nd cap.

"I've had some intense work on my groin in the past couple of days and I don't think that it will be a problem," he insisted.

"If I didn't feel as near to 100pc as I could feel, then I'd say myself that I shouldn't be playing. I have to feel confident I can get through the game and perform to the highest level."

What really made the England captain bristle, however, was the suggestion he had been given special treatment this week in being allowed to join the squad late on Wednesday afternoon.

Rather than flying straight to Manchester after Real Madrid's match against Villarreal on Tuesday night, Beckham's flight went to Stansted, allowing him to stay at home before being driven up to the team hotel.

However, he maintained: "It was always organised that I had the game on the Tuesday night and I'd arrive at some point on Wednesday.

"There was never any time limit put on that. I knew I wouldn't have trained that day and the manager hasn't had any problem with that.

"Because of my situation, some people like to think I get treated differently. That's not the case and none of the players or the England staff think that.

"As much as I'm England captain or play for Real Madrid, I'm no different to any other player in the squad. That's the way I like it, both in life and my career."

Eriksson resolutely backed up his captain, adding: "Everything was organised in advance and there was no confusion. He was not supposed to train with us on Wednesday.

"If he had been, we would have practised in the afternoon. David has never been a special case. Just because he went to Spain to play football, I doubt that he wants to be handled like that. No one has that intention.

"Normally, Real play on the Saturday or Sunday, it was just that this time Spain were not playing (in a qualifier) this weekend."

Alongside Beckham in midfield, Eriksson is expected to start with Nicky Butt, Owen Hargreaves and Frank Lampard, while Wayne Rooney will partner Michael Owen up front.

In defence, John Terry makes his second England start alongside Sol Campbell, with Gary Neville and Ashley Cole at full-back and David James in goal.

The conditions are hardly ideal, with only a handful of away fans unofficially in the stadium after the Football Association rejected their ticket allocation for security reasons.

The pitch is also deceptively hard and bumpy below a seemingly plush surface, but Beckham issued a rallying call to his team.

"Sometimes you come across pitches that are not as good as others, but you still have to perform and it's the same for both teams," he said.

"Some people might be talking about the players missing but we need to concentrate on those who are playing. It's a tricky tie but they can do the job and we are confident."

Wales Under-21 coach Jimmy Shoulder admitted his side had learned a harsh lesson after last night's 8-1 defeat by their Italian counterparts in Pavia.

The Welsh youngsters were outclassed by the European Championship qualifying group nine leaders.

"We did lose 8-1 but it is not embarrassing to lose against a team like that," said Esh Winning-born, former Sunderland and Hartlepool player Shoulder.

"I would have been happy to lose 4-1 against a team like that, they are an outstanding side. The embarrassing factor was that we allowed them to score four or five goals near the end.

"What let us down was the fact that we did not have anyone out there that got a grip on the team."

Four goals by Parma forward Alberto Gilardino, two by Chievo forward Giuseppe Sculli, one from skipper Matteo Brighi and a late strike by AC Milan forward Marco Borriello sealed a crucial win for Italy. Crewe's David Vaughan replied for Wales.

Beckham grateful for Ferguson influence

David Beckham has revealed his deep debt of gratitude to Sir Alex Ferguson despite recent rifts and insists he will happily shake the Manchester United manager's hand when England visit Old Trafford for next Wednesday's Euro 2004 qualifier with Liechtenstein.

The England captain, who insists he is fit enough after his slight groin problem to lead his country in today's qualifier in Macedonia, has been critical of Ferguson in the serialisation of his forthcoming autobiography.

The dressing room incident which left Beckham with an eye injury and his demotion to the bench for the Champions League quarter-final with Real Madrid last season have been highlighted as indications of a deteriorating relationship with Ferguson.

But Beckham insisted the positives outweigh the negatives in terms of his thoughts on Ferguson, and the debt he owes him, will be there for all to read when the book is published in full.

Beckham said: "If I see Sir Alex next Wednesday then of course I would shake his hand. I respect him as a manager. That's the way it is. That's the way it always will be.

"He has done so much for me in my career. People are talking about the negative stuff in the book but they actually haven't read the positive stuff in the book yet about Sir Alex.

"He was my manager for 15 years. He signed me at the club. He made me into the player I was and all the positive stuff will come out once the book is out and that's the way I feel about it.

"Of course, the negative stuff will be out there but there is a lot more positive than negative stuff in the book about him."